One event that is completely out of your control, can change your life forever. A death in the family is often a trigger. In Mary Petiet’s “Wash Ashore,” she tells the story of Olive Adams’ awakening after the sudden death of her beloved aunt Eartha. Eartha leaves Olive her Cape Cod home, Silver Beech. The unfolding tale introduces Olive and her self-discovery as she explores her deepest values, introduces her devoted friends, and their struggles against the forces of nature, and adds a touch of the supernatural, along with a fight to save a precious natural ecosystem. Add to all these ingredients love and the search for the perfect recipe for clam chowder and the result is the perfect book for summer reading.The calm tone of “Wash Ashore” calls up every summer vacation you’ve ever had after months of hardworking vigilance, where you finally, finally stop long enough to smell the ocean air, feel the sticky heat of the beach as the cool waves find their way to your grateful feet, and the smell of funnel cake and French fries waft by. This book is a lovely vacation whenever you read it and it fills you with the same calm you feel in an ocean breeze. I absolutely loved “Wash Ashore.”